Some of my neighbors tilled their gardens weeks ago, and onion sets and seed potatoes were available a month early. I don't want to be too early planting my garden, but I don't want to be late either. After months of drought, we've now had several inches of rain. We went from watering twice a week to add moisture to ready the soil, to having ground that is over-saturated for two feet down. I haven't put my potatoes in the ground yet, but I've done everything else.
After last year, I am absolutely sold on growing Yukon Gold potatoes. My potato hating family loved them. They stay firm when boiled and they have a brighter, less starchy taste. The skins are thin and tender and they never have to be peeled for mashing or using in casseroles
Potatoes in the produce section have been sprayed with a sprouting retardant that takes awhile to wear off. Washing the potatoes before using them helps.
My local grocery store sells seed potatoes in bulk this time of year, as does my local farm and ranch store and most of the local nurseries. Walmart and the big garden centers sell seed potatoes in bags. With bulk potatoes, I can pick and choose. With bagged potatoes you get what you get and they are more expensive. On the other hand, the bagged potatoes are from very reputable seed companies, you can return them for a refund if they are bad, and you have a wider selection. If you want to grow purple potatoes, they are only available in bags.
To get started, I raked the mulch away from an area three feet wide and thirty feet long.
I'm always looking for better ways to grow, so I read blogs and articles and anything else Google can find for me. Then I go to my YouTube app and watch everything that appears relevant. The trench method caught my interest, so I'm going to try it this year. This is not how my Daddy did it. Of course, he always planted rows three hundred feet long.
In the past I've made a furrow several inches deep, placed the potato pieces in the soil eye side up, and covered the furrow with loose soil. Once the sprouts broke the surface I would mulch around them and leave them alone (except for watering) until the dying vines indicated time to harvest.
With the trench method, I started by digging a trench. Some of the people on YouTube and in written pieces suggest digging the trench one to two feet deep. The drawback here, is I don't want to dig down two feet to harvest potatoes.
I made my trench one shovel depth, about ten inches. The soil was (and is still) too wet to plant, with water seeping into the bottom of the ditch and puddling. Tonight is supposed to be the end of the rain for a few days, so I hope to get my planting done the day before the next rain.
Before I plant, I will add an inch or two of finished compost to the bottom of the trench, sprinkle dry plant food and then rake an inch or so of soil back in. Even at ten inches, the trench bottom is too far for me to bend over and place seeds. To solve that problem, I have one of those reaching tools common to old people like me. I use it to get cans of spray paint down from high shelves and I can use it to place potato eyes in a rut.
Once the eyes are in place I will only cover them with about three inches of soil. When the plants reach eight inches in height, I will put back the rest of the soil. As the plant grows taller I will add several inches of mulch, an inch at a time. The stalk that is covered with soil or mulch will produce more roots and grow more tubers. It will be time to stop adding mulch when the plants begin to flower.
There are several other methods for producing more potatoes in a vertical space, including grow bags and potato towers. For now, I'll stick with rows. I will post updates on the potato progress here in the Potato Hills as the season goes on.
It's almost time to plant peas.
Stephen
After last year, I am absolutely sold on growing Yukon Gold potatoes. My potato hating family loved them. They stay firm when boiled and they have a brighter, less starchy taste. The skins are thin and tender and they never have to be peeled for mashing or using in casseroles
Potatoes in the produce section have been sprayed with a sprouting retardant that takes awhile to wear off. Washing the potatoes before using them helps.
My local grocery store sells seed potatoes in bulk this time of year, as does my local farm and ranch store and most of the local nurseries. Walmart and the big garden centers sell seed potatoes in bags. With bulk potatoes, I can pick and choose. With bagged potatoes you get what you get and they are more expensive. On the other hand, the bagged potatoes are from very reputable seed companies, you can return them for a refund if they are bad, and you have a wider selection. If you want to grow purple potatoes, they are only available in bags.
Many people plant a whole potato for each plant. I prefer to cut mine and get three or four plants from one potato. You only need one eye per cut piece, but I prefer to get at least two. This large russet potato has widely spaced eyes, making it hard to get more than one eye per cut.
A smaller potato, this one a Yukon Gold, has multiple eyes close together. I got just as many good seed pieces from the smaller potatoes, and since I buy my seed potatoes by the pound, I get a lot more seed pieces per pound.
After I cut up the potatoes into eye sections, I spread them out to dry for a few days. Once the cut surfaces dry and harden, they are less susceptible to rot and other invaders from the soil.
To get started, I raked the mulch away from an area three feet wide and thirty feet long.
I'm always looking for better ways to grow, so I read blogs and articles and anything else Google can find for me. Then I go to my YouTube app and watch everything that appears relevant. The trench method caught my interest, so I'm going to try it this year. This is not how my Daddy did it. Of course, he always planted rows three hundred feet long.
In the past I've made a furrow several inches deep, placed the potato pieces in the soil eye side up, and covered the furrow with loose soil. Once the sprouts broke the surface I would mulch around them and leave them alone (except for watering) until the dying vines indicated time to harvest.
With the trench method, I started by digging a trench. Some of the people on YouTube and in written pieces suggest digging the trench one to two feet deep. The drawback here, is I don't want to dig down two feet to harvest potatoes.
I made my trench one shovel depth, about ten inches. The soil was (and is still) too wet to plant, with water seeping into the bottom of the ditch and puddling. Tonight is supposed to be the end of the rain for a few days, so I hope to get my planting done the day before the next rain.
Before I plant, I will add an inch or two of finished compost to the bottom of the trench, sprinkle dry plant food and then rake an inch or so of soil back in. Even at ten inches, the trench bottom is too far for me to bend over and place seeds. To solve that problem, I have one of those reaching tools common to old people like me. I use it to get cans of spray paint down from high shelves and I can use it to place potato eyes in a rut.
Once the eyes are in place I will only cover them with about three inches of soil. When the plants reach eight inches in height, I will put back the rest of the soil. As the plant grows taller I will add several inches of mulch, an inch at a time. The stalk that is covered with soil or mulch will produce more roots and grow more tubers. It will be time to stop adding mulch when the plants begin to flower.
There are several other methods for producing more potatoes in a vertical space, including grow bags and potato towers. For now, I'll stick with rows. I will post updates on the potato progress here in the Potato Hills as the season goes on.
It's almost time to plant peas.
Stephen
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